The brilliant light flowing in Leyton's eyes instantly intensified, suppressing the emotions and desires that had been stirred within him. He looked deeply at the illusory thin line extending from the deep, dark Abyss, following the line with his gaze into the distance.
This was not a physically existing line, but a mystical connection. Through the Eyes of Mystery Prying, Leyton followed the mystical connection left on this Mystical Item and saw the materialized essence of all filth and fallen, the Abyss!
It was filled with the aura of filth, corrosion, Fallen, and curses. Everywhere, there were illusory, dense black mists formed from various emotions and desires. Near the ground, the black mists were so thick they condensed into viscous black liquid.
Through the mystical connection on the bone mask, Leyton saw a boundless, scarlet lake.
With just a fleeting glance, fear quickly grew in Leyton's heart, making him even forget to retract his gaze.
A hoarse and piercing sound suddenly exploded in Leyton's mind, carrying an indescribable sensation that briefly sent his spirit into a hallucinatory state.
The next moment, the emotions and desires in his heart uncontrollably and rapidly expanded, instantly detonated.
"Cough! Cough!"
Leyton's vision darkened, and he uncontrollably coughed twice. His nasal cavity was filled with the smell of rust and pungent sulfur.
His body instantly exploded, shattering into specks of dim starlight, imbued with a quiet and tranquil meaning. They floated around for a while before beginning to flicker with bright light, re-aggregating into Leyton's form.
Upon reappearing, Leyton was already draped in a black robe adorned with a cold, indifferent eye and numerous symbolic patterns—the sage's robe.
He had always carried this Mystical Item from the Hidden Sage with him, but he usually used its characteristic of being usable as a magic scroll to add Concealment effects to the robe itself.
"Cough!"
Leyton raised his hand to cover his lips and coughed again, but this time, there was no longer the smell of rust and sulfur in his nasal cavity.
Bernadette held the bone mask, her gaze calmly sweeping over Leyton, then she spoke in a flat tone:
"Restraining your curiosity is the first rule for a Mystery Pryer to survive in the mystical world."
"You, Cattleya, and your friend all share the same flaw: at times, you are too confident in yourselves, or rather, you trust and rely too much on certain things."
"At certain times, this confidence might bring you a fatal blow."
Leyton nodded with a serious expression, taking Bernadette's warning to heart.
Then, his gaze fell on the bone mask in Bernadette's hand, and he spoke in a hoarse voice:
"I seemed to have just seen the Abyss, and a scarlet, bizarre lake that looked like it was formed by countless amounts of blood, and then whispers echoed in my mind."
Bernadette gazed deeply at the bone mask in her hand, then, after a moment of silence, she said:
"The Sequence 2 of the Abyss Pathway is called 'Bloody Archduke.' The lake you saw might be the manifestation of a certain Archduke of the Abyss."
"The Death Announcer is most likely Their tentacle extending into the real world. Agalito frequently visits that Sea of Ruins. Perhaps some hidden secrets that even Archdukes of the Abyss wish to explore are hidden there."
Leyton rubbed his chin with his right hand, muttering softly:
"Then Their state shouldn't be very good. The madness there gave me a feeling of being almost out of control."
Bernadette said nothing more. The layers of thick, green pea vines around them began to retract, quickly revealing the clear and bright night sky again. The crimson moonlight scattered on the sea, exceptionally calm.
Bernadette's figure instantly transformed into light composed of complex knowledge, surging into the Spirit World.
Seeing Bernadette leave so directly, Leyton took two steps in mid-air. His body became transparent as he did so, turning into surging specks of starlight that flowed towards the Future, which was parked not far away.
In front of the Future's captain's cabin, specks of starlight regrouped inside, re-solidifying into Leyton's figure. He looked calmly at Cattleya, who seemed to have been waiting there, and said:
"There will no longer be the Death Announcer on the sea from now on."
Cattleya nodded lightly, her tone filled with anticipation as she asked:
"Is she on the Future?"
Looking at Cattleya's expectant gaze, Leyton pondered for a moment before nodding:
"Yes, she said she had foreseen that you would go to that Sea of Ruins and believed that you would not be able to handle some of the dangers you would encounter very well."
"This is not the first time I've been to that sea area," Cattleya said calmly, her eyes lowered, as if talking to herself or arguing with someone.
After bidding farewell to Cattleya, Leyton entered the cabin and went to his room for a good sleep. If the Future's speed was fast enough, they might reach that sea area tomorrow or the day after.
The next morning, in a rented house in Backlund West Borough, Fors was weakly sprawled in front of the fireplace, with an untouched manuscript in front of her.
Fors clicked the pen in her hand, muttering:
"I wonder how Xio manages to be busy outside all year round. In this still very cold early spring, only sitting in front of the fireplace can give me some warmth."
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Several short, strong knocks suddenly sounded. Fors turned her head towards the door, a little surprised. Who would be knocking at this time? Xio has her own key, and we usually communicate by letter. We don't have any friends who would visit in person.
Although a little puzzled, Fors still got up and walked towards the door. She did not open the door directly but gently placed her hand on the doorknob, relying on the spiritual intuition brought by being an Astrologer to determine if the person knocking outside had malicious intent.
"It's me, Lawrence," a somewhat old but strong voice came from outside the door at the opportune moment.
"...Mr. Lawrence!"
Fors was a little surprised, but she quickly remembered that she had sent a letter to him after the last Tarot Club meeting, both to inform him of her digestion progress and to ask if he had any spare potion ingredients.
The door creaked open. Lawrence, wearing a heavy wool coat and a semi-tall black top hat, stood quietly at the doorway, carrying a dark brown briefcase.
Lawrence's serene blue eyes calmly surveyed Fors, then he chuckled and said:
"It seems you have indeed digested the Astrologer potion. Although there's the bonus from the Acting Method, this is enough to prove your excellence."
"Uh, please come in first, Mr. Lawrence."
Fors was a little embarrassed by the praise, she lowered her head slightly and stepped aside to make way.
After Lawrence entered the room, she casually glanced outside, making sure there were no suspicious people before closing the door. Then she brewed a cup of hot coffee and placed it on the coffee table in the living room.
After sitting down, she looked at Lawrence with curiosity and asked:
"Mr. Lawrence, how did you know I live here?"
"A Traveler who can freely roam the Spirit World combined with an Astrologer who has strong divination abilities, Travelers can easily go to most places they want to go, even if they don't know much about them."
Lawrence smiled and explained, then he placed the briefcase he was carrying on the coffee table and opened it, taking out a metal box sealed by a Wall of Spirituality.
He unsealed the spiritual barrier in front of Fors and opened the metal box, revealing a fist-sized object that resembled a human brain.
A complex emotion flashed in Lawrence's blue eyes, but it quickly hid itself. He calmly said:
"This is a complete Asmann's brain. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the Abraham Family doesn't have many Beyonder materials left. This is the last Asmann's brain. As for the cursed item of the ancient vengeful spirit, you will have to find that yourself."
Fors nodded with a serious expression, then somewhat hesitantly asked:
"I understand, Mr. Lawrence, how much does this Asmann's brain cost?"
She hadn't expected Lawrence to bring the potion ingredients directly and hadn't had time to prepare the funds. A main ingredient for Sequence 6 costs about 1500 pounds. To come up with such a large sum of cash in a short time, I can only try to borrow money from Miss Audrey or Viscount Stratford.
Lawrence looked deeply at Fors, seemingly having noticed her financial predicament, and said with a smile:
"1500 pounds."
"Or, accept a commission, but this commission is relatively dangerous, and I do not recommend you do it."
"What commission?" Fors asked curiously.
Lawrence sighed deeply, and the aura around him suddenly became old and sorrowful. After a moment of silence, he slowly said:
"Help me hunt down the Aurora Order's Divine Envoy, Mr. X. He is currently in Backlund."
"The Aurora Order's Divine Envoy?" Fors asked incredulously.
She thought of the two Beyonder gatherings she had attended, where the conveners of the gatherings were suspected to be from the Aurora Order. From her limited contact with the convener at the gathering, she could also feel how terrifying the other party was.
Lawrence nodded lightly, then, as if opening his heart, began to tell Fors:
"The Abraham Family once suffered a betrayal. In that catastrophe, almost all of the Abraham Family's upper echelon was wiped out, and more than half of the powerful Sealed Artifacts were lost, including all of my descendants."
"After that rebellion, most of those traitors joined the Aurora Order, including the current Mr. X, Lewis Wien."
"He was already a Scribe at that time. So many years have passed, he has likely been promoted to Traveler, but he should not have become a Secrets Sorcerer yet."
"How abominable!" Fors thought of Mrs. Aulisa, who was very kind to her, and the friendly and amiable Mr. Lawrence in front of her, and she felt a genuine sense of disgust towards the Mr. X whom she had not yet truly met.
She said without thinking, "I accept this commission."
"Uh, can I invite some trustworthy companions to participate? In the form of a posted commission, the Traveler's teleportation ability makes it difficult for them to be ambushed. Once the other party escapes, we might face pursuit from the Aurora Order."
Lawrence leaned back on the sofa, specks of starlight flowing in his blue eyes, as if reflecting a brilliant Cosmos.
A moment later, the starlight in his eyes faded, and he nodded gently:
"You can, but you cannot disclose information about the Abraham Family. It's best to find Mid-sequence Beyonders. This matter is very dangerous."
Fors nodded seriously and said, "I understand, Mr. Lawrence. I will give you an answer before next Tuesday. How should I contact you during this time?"
Lawrence re-closed the briefcase on the coffee table as he spoke:
"Just write to me through a messenger. My messenger's summoning incantation is: 'Spirits roaming the Upper World, friendly creatures to be commanded, the messenger exclusive to Lawrence Nord.'"
"My messenger likes music. Putting a musical instrument in the messenger summoning ritual will make it happy, and it will be more willing to communicate with you."
"This Asmann's brain will be my advance payment. Don't rush to refuse; your character is worthy of my trust."
Likes music? And needs a musical instrument in the summoning ritual? Mr. Lawrence's messenger has quite a personality, Fors mused inwardly, then nodded and said:
"I will confirm the people interested in participating in this task as soon as possible, and then I will contact you."
Lawrence nodded lightly, then stood up from the sofa. He made a grasping motion with his left hand in the air in front of him, then gently rotated his wrist, and a faint, insubstantial, blurry, blue Door suddenly appeared.
After bidding farewell to Fors, Lawrence stepped directly forward. As the faint blue light brushed past him, Lawrence's figure instantly disappeared from the living room of the rented house.